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2
Armina spaceport, Phase Nine starting line
“You have got to stop inviting random women onto my ship.”
Prince Lear sent Aidan a mocking smile from across the barroom table. “Who am I to deny their curiosity if they want to see a real-life Phase Nine racing vessel?” His brogue always grew thicker with his consumption of alcohol.
To his right, Zeek leaned back in his chair and scoffed. “They don’t want to see the inside of our junker, they want to see the inside of yourbunker.”
Lear shrugged and sipped his ale.
Aidan rolled his eyes. The dragon prince was apparently irresistible to the opposite sex. Aidan couldn’t really understand why. Maybe it was the accent. It made him sound naturally regal and exotic out here in deep space. From what Aidan could tell, Lear basked in the glory of female adoration. He was addicted to attention, with an endless supply on tap.
“Phase Nine is ruthless,” said Aidan. “We can’t run the risk of opening ourselves up to sabotage.”
Unfortunately, sabotage was common practice in this race. The competition was not only fierce, it was ruthless. Very few rules applied, which were really more like loose guidelines.
“Speaking of junker…” Zeek faced Aidan and jerked his chin at Lear. “Couldn’t your prince of all dragons over here have procured a better ship for us? Aren’t princes supposed be, oh, I don’t know, rich or something?”
Aidan ground his teeth. “He’s not the prince ofalldragons. He’s a prince to his own tiny clan on his own tiny planet.”
Lear glowered. “Hey, my planet is just as big as yours. And I could have been the prince of all dragons if your people weren’t so damn stubborn about their independence.” Their home planets shared a solar system.
“Stick to your own planet.” Sure, they were both dragon shifters and their people held a common ancestry, but they couldn’t be more different. The dragons of Legura, Lear’s planet, had organized themselves into clans, each with their own royal family. Aidan’s people were loners who lived in a kind of self-governed society. They socialized, but rarely did they bow to a single leader for long periods of time.
Lear faced Zeek. “And I doona see you, Asher, Vin, or Priya pitching in to afford a better craft. Or even for parts to fix this one up. The Legura clan is footing the bill for all of this.” He waved his hand around as if he’d singlehandedly created Armina, the spaceport where they were harbored.
The truth was, none of them would be here if it weren’t for Lear and his clan. Aidan wasn’t sure that was a good thing. He never deigned to run Phase Nine again. In fact, he despised Lear’s late father for forcing him into this. Once was enough to ruin his life. Twice, he was sure, would destroy him completely. At this point, what did it matter? In the infinite void of his life, the only thing he had was the festering wound wedged around his heart. It was the only thing he felt anymore. The only thing that reminded him he was alive.
“That’s because you slapped your name all over us,” Zeek countered. “We win, Legura and your clan get all the credit. Aidan’s people get jack shit.”
Lear inclined his head. “As was the agreement.”
Zeek leaned forward and rested his forearm on the table. “Look, dragon boy, I like you and all, but for one, you’re hogging all the chicks, and for two, you have to admit this deal isn’t fair to the rest of us. What’s your role on the ship? To sit around and look pretty? I’m the navigator. Ash is our copilot, Priya is our gunner, Vin’s our engineer, tasked with the monumental job of keeping the ship from coming apart at the seams; and Aiden’s our captain. He’s the one with the experience, the killer piloting skills, and the only one to actually run Phase Nine and win. Fucking cost him everything, too.”
Hot pain sliced through Aidan’s heart. He was surprised Zeek would even mention what had happened to him. None of them ever broached the subject in his presence.
Zeek didn’t seem to notice his misstep. “You’re just the purse strings, from what I see.”
Lear tapped his chin. “Hmm, you’re right. Perhaps I should be promoted to captain since, as you keep reminding me, Iamthe one footing the bill.”
No longer interested in the conversation, Aidan pushed out of his seat and threw down a couple of chips for the bill. “Deal’s done, Zeek. There’s no changing it now, even if I wanted to.”
As he turned to head out of the bar, he heard Lear mutter in his thick accent, “Bluidy hell. See what you did?”
“What do you mean…ooh. Shit. My bad.”
